Legal Definitions - exception in deed

An exception in deed occurs when someone transferring ownership of a property specifically states in the legal document (the deed) that they are keeping a particular right or a portion of that property for themselves, rather than transferring everything to the new owner. It means the original owner (the transferor) carves out and retains a specific interest from the property being conveyed to the new owner (the transferee).

• Utility Access Easement
  A large manufacturing company decides to sell a portion of its industrial complex to a logistics firm. However, a critical underground water pipe, essential for the manufacturing company's remaining operations, runs directly through the parcel being sold. In the deed transferring ownership, the manufacturing company includes an exception for a utility easement. This allows the manufacturing company's maintenance teams permanent access to the specific area above the pipe for inspections and repairs, even though the logistics firm now owns the land. This example illustrates an exception in deed because the seller explicitly retained a specific right (the easement) over the property being transferred.

• Life Estate for a Relative
  An individual wishes to pass their vacation cabin to their niece but wants to ensure their elderly sibling can continue to use it during the summer months for the rest of their life. When drafting the deed to transfer ownership to the niece, the individual includes an exception granting their sibling a life estate for the cabin during the summer. This means the niece legally owns the cabin, but the sibling retains the specific right to occupy and use it during the summer season until their death. This demonstrates an exception in deed as the transferor reserved a specific, time-limited property interest for a third party (their sibling) out of the full ownership being conveyed to the niece.

• Reservation of Mineral Rights
  A farmer decides to sell a vast tract of agricultural land to a real estate developer. While the developer is interested in the surface land for building, the farmer believes there might be valuable oil or gas deposits beneath the property. In the deed of sale, the farmer includes an exception reserving all subsurface mineral rights for themselves. This means the developer gains full ownership of the land's surface and everything above it, but the farmer retains the legal right to any minerals found underground and the right to extract them. This is an exception in deed because the seller explicitly kept a distinct property interest (the mineral rights) separate from the surface land being transferred.